Coil cradles are devices for holding coils of sheet material, such as aluminum siding stock, in place so that the material can be unrolled from the coil and cut to length prior to installation or prior to another forming operation. Since such cradles are intended for on-site use, they must be light and easily portable, the coil stock must be held securely, yet be easily removeable, and the stock must not be marred. To facilitate the cutting of the coil, the unrolled sheet should be guided to a cutting location where the cutting can be accomplished while the stock is firmly retained in position, yet without marring the stock. The cutting is normally carried out by use of a cutting knife which is simply drawn across the material after it has been uncoiled.
Prior cradles which have been used in the prior art were simply open-topped and open-bottomed rectangular frames in which the coil is supported either interiorly or exteriorly by support rolls. In one prior art device, the coil was supported on a pair of lower support rolls and a third hold-down roll centered between the support rolls. The third roll was positioned interiorly of the coil and was retained in place by coiled screen door springs which were looped over the ends of the roll. In the prior art, the sheet was not guided to the cutting location, and thus required careful manual location. Further, the sheet was merely cut against a fixed portion of the frame as it was clamped beneath a pivoted hold-down element. There was no protection of the sheet against marring during positioning or cutting, and no special provision was made for any cutting area or surface, the cutter knife being simply drawn across the coiled portion of the coil.